TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Dustin Tokarski to a standard three-year entry level contract, Executive Vice President & General Manager Brian Lawton announced.

“Dustin is a young goaltender who has had success at every level he has played by helping his teams win championships,” Lawton said. “He has been an underdog most of the time but has never let that distract him from succeeding.  We are excited to continue to add people of character to our organization.”

Tokarski, a 5-foot-11, 189-pound native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, is currently playing for Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old is midway through his third season with Spokane of the Western Hockey League where he has posted a record of 16-9-2 with four shutouts, a 1.97 goals-against average and a.955 save percentage. Tokarski led Spokane to the 2008 Memorial Cup with a 16-5 record in 21 post-season games, earning him the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the Memorial Cup Tournament MVP.

Selected by the Lightning in the fifth round, 122nd overall at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Tokarski has appeared in 97 career games in three seasons in Spokane, posting a record of 59-30-7 with 12 shutouts.